

You may determine the year of manufacture in three ways.
#Lc smith shot guns serial numbers
With a little time and perseverance, you should be able to determine the year of manufacture, but remember that all serial numbers are not in the records. In fact, some serial numbers were used five times between 18.You can determine if it is a pre-1913 or later by comparing information given under Grades of Shotguns on this website. You will need to know if the shotgun is pre-1913 or later gun because some of the early serial numbers were repeated in later years. Serial numbers of guns produced by the Marlin Firearms Company (1968-71) had a prefix of FWM. Serial numbers for the period of 1946 through 1950 include Hunter and Fulton shotguns. Smith Gun Company (1946-50) started with FWS1 and ended with FWS 56800. Others have the suffix “R” (on both regular and featherweight frames). Adding to the confusion is that some pre-1913 ejector guns have an “E” at the end of the number, while others do not. Starting in 1917, serial numbers of all types, gauges, and grades are intermixed. During the period of 1890 to 1916, many numbers are not sequential with blocks of overlapping numbers assigned to different types of shotguns, such as hammerless ejector guns. SERIAL NUMBER DATA BEFORE 1890 ARE NOT AVAILABLE. Smith serial numbers, as they are related to year of manufacture, are confusing.
